It's understandable why most people believe that their opinion matters and expressing it is important. That's what everyone does. This topic is all over the news and the internet, so you should contribute and say something, right? It's nothing more than an illusion.
Russia: Anna Lemind
There is no doubt that social media plays a crucial role in our lives today. We are so used to checking our Facebook newsfeed and our friends' Instagram updates that we can't imagine ourselves without these things.
However, the need to constantly stay connected and share our news with the world is not just a part of our lives. It has also changed the way we think, making us fall prey to illusions and various cognitive distortions.
I would like to focus on one of them – the delusional need to have an opinion about everything.
To illustrate concretely, let me ask you a few questions:
What is your opinion on Fermi's paradox?
Why didn't the Germans destroy the British troops at Dunkirk during WWII?
Why did communism fail?
Unless you are extremely erudite, you will most likely answer "I don't know" to some or all of these questions.
do you see You are not ashamed to admit that you do not know something. And it's no shame at all – we can't know everything. After all, we are here to learn and evolve.
Unfortunately, we often overlook this simple truth and fall into the illusion that we must have an opinion when it comes to the topics that are trending at the moment.
Now, let me ask you a few more questions:
What were the reasons for the start of the war in Ukraine?
What is your opinion on vaccines against COVID-19?
Why are energy prices rising?
Here, you will most likely have an answer to give to each of these questions.
But now ask yourself, how much do you really know about these topics? Unless you have a broad knowledge of politics, economics, or immunology, you probably know these things on a very superficial level.
However, you are sure of your opinion.
So why were your answers so different? You said "I don't know" to the first set of questions, and yet you answered the second set of questions with a high degree of certainty.
What is the difference?
The illusion of having an opinion about everything
This is where we get to the heart of the illusion I'm talking about. A constant connection to social media and the internet tricks us into believing we have to have an opinion on everything. Furthermore, our opinions matter.
You write a post and your Facebook friends react to it. You upload a selfie with a political message to your Instagram and people comment. You feel like what you say is important.
In reality, it is not true.
Your opinion matters as long as you talk about your life and the things you know. If you just follow the ads but have a superficial knowledge of the topic, your opinion doesn't matter because it doesn't add any value. If you have not studied and analyzed the problem in depth, just repeat what you have heard from others, read on the Internet or seen on TV.
However, it is understandable why most people believe that their opinion counts and that expressing it is important. That's what everyone does. This topic is all over the news and the internet, so you should contribute and say something too, right?
It is nothing but an illusion.
It can be hard to accept this truth, because in our age of constant connection, it feels strange to stay away from the noise and say nothing. Social media is here to express ourselves, right?
In reality, you don't need to have an opinion about everything. It's okay to stay away from the topics of the moment and not have an opinion at all. It's okay not to say anything.
You don't need to take sides and create viewpoints on topics you know nothing about, especially if they lie outside your area of interest. There is no shame in saying "I don't know" or "I'm not sure" when someone asks you about a political or social issue.
After all, silence is golden. Sometimes it really is best to remain silent.
So the next time you start a debate about a "hot" topic or share a political post on Facebook, ask yourself,
How well do I know the topic?
Have I studied the problem from different angles?
Is my opinion really my own or am I just repeating something I heard from others or on TV?
Perhaps these questions will help you see the truth. The need to have an opinion about everything is an illusion.
At the same time, if you are really interested in a trending issue and want to understand it better, then be sure to study it from all angles.
Read, watch, learn. Then analyze the information you have consumed. Only then can you say you came up with your own conclusions – not someone else's.
/ bota.al
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